The Evolution of the Cape Cod House An Architectural History

There are enough good books about Cape Cod architecture to fill a small bookcase, so when I picked this one up I questioned whether it would offer anything new.

Sarah Korjeff Mumford

The Evolution of the Cape Cod House An Architectural History By Arthur P. Richmond Schiffer Publishing, Atglen PA, 2011 Hardback, 256 pgs, $50

There are enough good books about Cape Cod architecture to fill a small bookcase, so when I picked this one up I questioned whether it would offer anything new. But I was pleasantly surprised, because Arthur Richmond’s clear and illustrative photographs immediately engaged me.

Most readers will be familiar with the essential features of the Cape Cod House form – its steeply sloped roof, large central chimney, and its half-Cape, three quarter-Cape and full-Cape variations. We see them throughout our region. The survival of numerous Capes after close to 300 years of use is testament to their staying power, but Richmond wants us to understand more about these buildings. Using photographs, he draws attention to less obvious features like construction techniques, room arrangement, and how the buildings have changed over time. He also looks beyond the essential Cape Cod House form to explore its possible precedents, including an entire section on early English houses and the buildings of Plimoth Plantation.

Perhaps the best part of Richmond’s book is the way he has compiled historic images to partner with his recent photographs. He includes architectural drawings that were done for the federal government in the 1930s (a Works Progress Administration project) and the 1960s (for the Cape Cod National Seashore) to formally document some of the region’s oldest buildings. The drawings are clear and deftly illustrate building features that would be hard to show in photographs, like the shape of large chimney masses and the overall organization of rooms. Including these drawings, as well as historic photographs – some attributed to the Library of Congress and others to local historical societies – also gives Richmond the ability to compare and contrast how these buildings looked 50 to 75 years ago with how they look today. It is impressive the number of structures that have withstood the test of time and are little altered, and Richmond’s photos celebrate their continued existence.

Another nice feature of the book is the way Richmond speaks directly to the reader in his captions, encouraging us to examine the drawings and photographs to identify the location of a unique feature or to understand the difference between two similar buildings. You quickly sense that he is an educator at heart, a fact confirmed by his short bio on the book jacket.

The Evolution of the Cape Cod House is not a scholarly examination of the house style. Instead, it is an opportunity for Richmond to lead us along his own path of discovery about these buildings. Through his images and narrative we follow his efforts to understand the origin of the Cape Cod House and to chart its evolution. The narrative falls short sometimes, for it gets repetitive and perpetuates some questionable theories (like the idea that white painted chimneys were a symbol of the owner’s political sympathies), but the strength of his images carries the book.

Some of the buildings Richmond photographed are open to the public as museums, but there are many others that we might not see outside this book. Simply having access to these interiors and observing how they have adapted to 21st century life is a treat. If you take time to examine the photographs in this book, you can’t help but gain a greater appreciation for these houses, which is exactly what the author wants.

Arthur Richmond will sign copies of his book Nov. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Titcomb’s Bookshop on Route 6A in East Sandwich.

Sarah Korjeff Mumford is an architectural historian and Historic Preservation Specialist for the Cape Cod Commission.

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